Laborer

Employee was watching the cable on the dolly when the rib rolled off crushing him. Rib measured approximately 82 by 36 by 11 inches.

On Wednesday, June 29, 2011, at approximately 11:15 a.m., a 49 year old continuous haulage cable attendant (dolly man) received fatal injuries when a large section of rock measuring approximately 82 inches long, 36 inches wide, and 11 inches thick fell from the rib and knocked him into the dolly. There were no witnesses to the accident. It appears that during the mining process, the continuous haulage system backed up, causing the dolly to move along the lo-lo (belt) structure and apparently dragging the victim from beneath the fallen material.

1. The operator failed to support or control the mine rib to prevent the large rib failure, which resulted in fatal injuries to the continuous haulage cable handler.

   Corrective action: The operator has developed and submitted an update with comprehensive rib control measures as a portion of the Roof Control Plan.

2. The operator failed to instruct foremen adequately with regard to properly identifying hazardous conditions.

   Corrective action: The operator conducted and documented training on the proper identification of hazardous conditions with the miners as well at all other company-controlled mines. The miners were instructed to report to mine management immediately any hazardous conditions observed.

3. The operator failed to have in place an adequate roof control plan addressing proper support of mine ribs in changing geological conditions and to support the ribs properly on the 002 MMU.

   Corrective action: The operator has developed and submitted a revision to the current roof control plan, which has been approved. The revision states the corrective actions that will be taken to support rib conditions when encountering various heights and geological conditions.

4. The operator failed to conduct adequate pre-shift and on-shift examinations on the 002 MMU. Uncorrected roof and rib conditions existed during the shift, which posed hazards to the miners. None of the hazardous conditions, including hazardous ribs, were recorded in the preshift or on-shift examination books.

   Corrective action: The operator conducted and documented safety meetings with all employees on identifying and recording hazardous conditions properly.

Findings from MSHA's final investigation report, which supersedes the preliminary narrative above.

Activity at time of incident

Move Power Cable

Subunit / location

UNDERGROUND

Underground location

FACE

Mining method

Continuous Mining

Accident type

Struck by falling object

Source of injury

CAVING ROCK,COAL,ORE,WSTE

Nature of injury

CRUSHING

Body part affected

MULTIPLE PARTS (MORE THAN ONE MAJOR)

Total mining experience

16 years

Experience at this mine

0 years

Experience in this job

0 years

Degree of injury

FATALITY